Week In Review 4/21/17

What: The annual College Democrats of Indiana state convention and elections are coming up! You do NOT need to be an executive board member of IU Dems to run for a position. Information on candidate roles and procedures can be found here. General attendees must fill out this form. Interested candidates must fill out this form. The Facebook event is here.

​A few weeks ago President Trump announced that the Carl Vinson Strike Group, a fleet including 2 air craft carriers and several guided-missile destroyers, would be rerouting towards the Korean Peninsula to reinforce the United State’s presence in the region (Navy). President Trump referred to this as an “armada” meant to warn Kim Jong Un that he “is doing the wrong thing” (Fox). Just over a week later, the U.S. Navy posted a picture of the ship traveling through the Sunda Strait, thousands of miles south of North Korea (Navy). It is unclear wether the fleet’s directive has been changed, or if they were never intended to actually travel to the Korean Peninsula in the first place (NPR). Either way, somebody messed up.

In a lawsuit filed by 3 individuals alleging that President Trump (then just an orange business man running for office) incited attendees at a rally to violence when they assaulted protestors during a 2016 campaign event, President Trump’s lawyers argued that “Mr. Trump is immune to the suit because he is President” (CNN). His lawyers referenced the Supreme Court case Clinton v. Jones, which is particularly puzzling as the decision was that a sitting president does not have blanket immunity in civil cases and that if the alleged actions occurred before the individual was president, then it is irrelevant (Oyez).

Exxon Mobile, the oil company previously led by current Secretary of State and bizarre Russian fanboyRex Tillerson, is seeking a permit that would allow them to bypass U.S. sanctions and drill for oil in Russia (WSJ).

Indiana has removed nearly half a million individuals from the state’s list of registered voters since the November 8 2016 general election (NWIT). Republican Secretary of State, Connie Lawson, said the removals are part of an effort to “clean up records.” You can decide for yourself if that sounds shady, but it sounds shady to me.

Good News

Bill O’Reilly got fired. ​There’s no explanation or links needed for this one.

A group of lawyers from American Oversight is suing the Justice Department and the FBI (NPR) over President Trump’s allegation of wire tapping (Twitter) ordered by President Obama during the 2016 election. The group is demanding evidence that either proves or disproves the accusations.

Have a good weekend! (Don’t forget to stay hydrated and make sure all of your friends get home safe. Don’t be a bystander if you see something questionable – look out for your fellow Hoosiers!)